Pablo Escobar is a popular subject these days. The former Medellin Cartel strong man was recently portrayed by Benico Del Toro in the movie, Escobar: Paradise Lost, and is the focus of Netflix's series, Narcos.
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura plays Escobar in Narcos. He's pursued by DEA agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Colombian authorities, who are trying to shut down his Medellin Cartel, which made millions of dollars on cocaine.
In the series, rather than get high on his white-powder supply, Escobar prefers to wake and bake with a joint of Colombian Gold. With endless supplies of cash and a high degree of megalomania, he embarks on a campaign to win the presidency.
Cutthroat and brutal, Escobar attempts to eliminate his rivals, including the Minister of Justice. He goes on the lam and eventually surrenders, but his deal is a sweet one: He can stay in his own prison and police can't be within three miles of the jail. Still, the Army leads an assault, but Escobar has one more ploy up his sleeve.
Where De Toro's Escobar is a caricature, Moura's depiction (he's earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role; the series is also noiminated) is cold and calculating, probably far closer to who the Colombian strongman really was.
Narcos is so well-done, it belongs in the same shelf in the DVD library as Traffic (which was originally a made-for-TV miniseries), Blow and Scarface.
Watch the trailer below...
"The true story of Columbia's infamously violent and powerful drug cartels fuels this gritty new gangster series," is how Netflix describes the series. All 10 episodes will be available starting Aug. 28
